The man accused of stabbing an Ethiopian toddler to death at her own third birthday party on Saturday has a long criminal history, including time spent in federal prison.
Timmy Earl Kinner Jr., 30, also stabbed eight other people -- six of them children -- Saturday at a Boise, Idaho, apartment complex that houses many refugees from war-torn countries, police officials said. Kinner is charged with first-degree murder, as well as eight counts of aggravated battery.
The birthday girl, who at 3 years old was one of the youngest victims, died of her injuries Monday at a Utah hospital, where she had been flown for treatment. The International Rescue Committee (IRC) identified the girl as Ruya Kadir.
Ruya and her mother fled violence in their native country of Ethiopia in December 2015 and were resettled in Boise with help from the IRC. All of the victims in Saturday’s attack were refugees from Ethiopia, Iraq and Syria.
IRC president and CEO David Miliband said in a statement that Ruya was described by those who knew her as "the epitome of sweetness."
"Our caseworkers describe Ruya as a child who always sparkled when she walked into a room," Miliband said. "She was her mother's princess, always the center of attention, and loved pink and Disney princesses."
Julianne D. Tzul, executive director for IRC’s Boise office, also spoke out about the attack.
"It is heartbreaking to know that people and children who fled the horror of war and conflict to find safety in America and the Boise community had to experience violence all over again," Tzul said in a statement.
Boise Mayor David Bieter said Sunday that the "horrific attack" at the Wylie Street Station Apartments is not representative of the city.
"Our city has long stood as a welcoming city -- a place of safety and kindness for those fleeing violence and oppression in their homelands," Bieter said. "The senseless acts of one disturbed person does not change that. As Boiseans, we come together not only to condemn this vile act, but also to embrace those among us seeking refuge from tyranny, suffering and war. It is who we are and who we will continue to be."
Zine Jalil, 8, and his 9-year-old brother, Siraj, described the stabbing for The Idaho Statesman. The boys and their family are Iraqi refugees living at the apartment complex where the mass stabbing took place.
Zine said he had gone to the Dollar Tree with a neighbor, Ekhlas Al Khudhur, shortly before the assault began. Al Khudhur, 23, needed some groceries for her family, the Statesman reported.
"They were coming back, and Zine got stabbed first," Siraj told the newspaper. "Then he went to my mom and told her that Ekhlas died."
Al Khudhur was not dead, but had been stabbed more than a dozen times. Zine, who was stabbed in the stomach, witnessed that stabbing as well.
The attacker saw Zine after the boy ran to his mother and tried to stab him again, family members said. Instead, he stabbed the boys’ mother and 6-year-old sister, witnesses said.
The boys’ sister, Teba, is recovering at St. Luke’s Boise Medical Center from wounds to her liver and pancreas.
Their mother, Miada Jasim, 37, is hospitalized across town at Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. Jasim was stabbed in the neck.
"She's getting better," Zine told the Statesman. "She was paralyzed yesterday, but now she can move a little bit."
As of Monday, Zine was the only victim who had been released from the hospital. In photos shared on the Statesman’s Facebook page Tuesday, the boy holds up his shirt to show his stab wound, covered with a bandage, and several bruises from the attack.
The seven remaining victims were still being treated, many with serious or critical injuries, Boise police officials said. A candlelight vigil was held for the victims Monday and multiple efforts are underway to offer them relief with medical bills, counseling, rent, transportation and childcare.
The boys said they had seen Kinner around the apartment complex in the week before the attack. Officials said the preliminary investigation showed Kinner had stayed with a friend at the complex for a few days, but was asked to leave.
"That person and additional neighbors became concerned with the suspect's behavior and asked him to leave on Friday, which he did peacefully," a news release from the Boise Police Department said.
He returned Saturday with a knife, described as a large knife with a folding blade, and began attacking the children playing outside at and around Ruya Kadir's birthday party, investigators said. The knife was later found in a canal that runs near the apartment complex, the Statesman reported.
Kinner, who is not a refugee, has an extensive criminal history in several states, investigators said. The crimes include violent ones.
Kinner, who police describe as homeless, was most recently arrested in April in Utah. At that time, St. George police officers booked him on suspicion of misdemeanor theft, for which he served three days in jail and was placed on 18 months' probation, the Statesman said.
The majority of Kinner’s record is from Tennessee, where his arrests ranged from indecent exposure and misdemeanor assault to felony robbery and sexual assault.
He was federally indicted in 2008 for illegal possession of a semi-automatic handgun and marijuana distribution, the newspaper reported. He pleaded guilty to the weapons charge and was sentenced to more than three years in prison.
Once out of prison, his supervised release was revoked multiple times because he was charged with new crimes, the Statesman said.
Saturday was the first time Kinner was arrested in Idaho. He was arraigned Monday afternoon at the Ada County Courthouse.
In court, Kinner, who appeared via video from the Ada County Jail, appeared confused when Judge Russell Comstock asked the defendant if he understood the charges against him.
"No. No, sir," Kinner replied, according to video from the court appearance.
“What don’t you understand?” Comstock asked.
“I don’t understand none of this, sir,” the defendant said.
When Comstock read through Kinner’s rights, Kinner asked, “What about the right to gather evidence?”
The judge told him that was reserved for the trial process.
Kinner asked to represent himself in his case. The Statesman reported that Comstock assigned a public defender to assist him in initial proceedings.
Kinner is being held without bail.
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